You lived a long, full life but are gone too soon 😢   

Ivy - November 17, 1920 - May 18, 2024;

(103 years, 6 months & 1 day.)

 

My Mother kept a garden.

A garden of the heart;

She planted all the good things,

That gave my life it’s start.

 

She turned me to the sunshine,

And encouraged me to dream:

Fostering and nurturing

The seeds of self-esteem.

 

And when the winds and rains came,

She protected me enough;

But not too much, she knew I’d need

To stand up strong and tough.

 

Her constant good example,

Always taught me right from wrong;

Markers for my pathway

To last my whole life long.

 

I am my Mother’s garden,

I am her legacy.

And I hope today she feels the love,

Reflected back from me.

 

Rest in peace dear mother. Although I'm sad to lose you, I've known for awhile now, it was time for you to go.

You've more than earned your eternal rest 😘 

Oh @Reciprocity, I'm sorry to read your mom is gone. What a long life she was given and such a lovely poem to honor her. 

My thoughts are with you and your family..... 😢 

My Dear Friend 

Im sorry for the loss of your Lovely Mum .

My thoughts are with you and all your family 

st this sad time 🥰

 

I am so very sorry @Reciprocity That is a beautiful poem you wrote for her!  She lived a very long life, but I know that it doesn't matter how old they are, losing a parent is heartbreaking! 😢  My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.  May your dear mother rest in peace!!

Edited May 31, 20242 yr by QuittingGirl

I'm so sorry to hear this @Reciprocity

 

That was a beautiful poetic tribute and she sounds like a wonderful person. My thoughts and prayers are with her and your family.

I’m so very sorry to hear of your mom passing away.  The tribute you paid her through your poem is beautiful! Over a century old. Oh I bet she had so many stories to tell because she lived through a time of heightened innovation and just so many historical events occurring during her life. I can tell you will miss her sorely. May she rest in peace. 

I'm so sorry for loss. I pray she lived a cherished life and did not suffer in the end. Plus, my condolences to you and your whole family.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and condolences. I appreaciate your words at this time.

It may sound somewhat cold but although we will miss having her with us, at the same time we are relieved she has passed as her quality of life the past couple of years was pretty much zero. Hard to watch someone you love end up unable to do so many things they once loved. She still had all her marbles, which I think made things worse for her lately because she understood what was happening but could do little about it. She died peacefully of old age so did not suffer in her final days.

 

@Gus mentioned how she must have had some great stories because of the time span of her life. That she did! Her family grew up in a mining town in northern Ontaio Canada. A hard working, hard drinking town where winters are particularly brutal. Everyone there worked at the Gold Mine or for a business supporting the mine. She was the youngest of 3 children. Her father who served in WW1 died unexpectedly of TB in 1928 which threw the family into sheer panic because he was the bread winner and then a year later, the great depression began - double whammie!! 

 

I remember years ago, when she was living on her own still; when I would visit her I'd go into her fridge and there'd be all these little packages of food wrapped in plastic wrap. I wondered what they were? There'd be two left over peas, a teaspoon of potato. three bits of carrots and so on. Those years of living in desperation during the depression never left her brain. Never, ever, ever throw any food away! It was something I just couldn't imagine yet I fully understood why she was doing this.

 

She was a real pistol too. Never did she shy away of speaking her mind; good or bad. But I loved her all through her life and did my best to support her emotionally when my dad died 22 years ago

 

Here's a pic of her family before her father died. My Mom's the baby on her mother's lap. She looks to be around 1 year old? That would put the pic at 1921ish.

As Gus suggested, just imagining all the crazy technoligical changes she wittnessed in her lifetime - amazing!

Edited June 1, 20242 yr by Reciprocity

18 hours ago, Reciprocity said:

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and condolences. I appreaciate your words at this time.

It may sound somewhat cold but although we will miss having her with us, at the same time we are relieved she has passed as her quality of life the past couple of years was pretty much zero. Hard to watch someone you love end up unable to do so many things they once loved. She still had all her marbles, which I think made things worse for her lately because she understood what was happening but could do little about it. She died peacefully of old age so did not suffer in her final days.

 

@Gus mentioned how she must have had some great stories because of the time span of her life. That she did! Her family grew up in a mining town in northern Ontaio Canada. A hard working, hard drinking town where winters are particularly brutal. Everyone there worked at the Gold Mine or for a business supporting the mine. She was the youngest of 3 children. Her father who served in WW1 died unexpectedly of TB in 1928 which threw the family into sheer panic because he was the bread winner and then a year later, the great depression began - double whammie!! 

 

I remember years ago, when she was living on her own still; when I would visit her I'd go into her fridge and there'd be all these little packages of food wrapped in plastic wrap. I wondered what they were? There'd be two left over peas, a teaspoon of potato. three bits of carrots and so on. Those years of living in desperation during the depression never left her brain. Never, ever, ever throw any food away! It was something I just couldn't imagine yet I fully understood why she was doing this.

 

She was a real pistol too. Never did she shy away of speaking her mind; good or bad. But I loved her all through her life and did my best to support her emotionally when my dad died 22 years ago

 

Here's a pic of her family before her father died. My Mom's the baby on her mother's lap. She looks to be around 1 year old? That would put the pic at 1921ish.

As Gus suggested, just imaging all the crazy technoligical changes she wittnessed in her lifetime - amazing!

Aww … How amazing … 

All the things that have been invented in her life time . 
Brilliant photo.., Thank you for sharing ❤️

Wow condolences recip on your loss.

What an achievement for her 103 years.

I hope you live that long but with an undiminished quality of life.

Thanks for sharing.